How do 3:43+ 1500 guys make a living

its just the way it is man. You are right 3.43 is a very good time, but in a business sense (Track and Field) it is worth nothing. At least its not as bad as the 800m, where you really have to run sub 1min46 to start even looking at a career. At this point it comes down to personal motivation and endeavour to make that step to world-class level. As Michael Johnson pointed out, getting nothing can make an athlete want it just that little bit more.

walsh?

Answer: At Starbucks!

There are a raft of options:

Burger King

Cable repair guy

Giggolo

Wal-Mart

Car salesman

Wilderness guide

Parking lot attendant...

...that's just the beginning. If you have a college degree in Liberal Arts or Humanities you can:

Sell time shares

Work as a 1-900-HOT-LINE 'vocalist'

Barnes & Noble assistant manager

Security guard at a mall or at a concert venue

Be a stringer for Howard Stern's show

Papparazzi

Fisherman...

The list is only limited by your imagination.

I hate to say it meters but, a 30 year old running 3:36 isn't exactly a marketeers dream. Especially when each year a few "20 year old" Africans burst on the scene running 3:31 or better.

I am not trying to slam anyone who runs 3:43 or 13:45 but that is really the track equivalent of a Double A baseball player or a locally gigging band. You have to work harder or find another line of work because the big money won't be flowing.

They can also move in distance. After a year or so they should be able to run some 28:30's and 2:14 marathons, and that will make them some cash.

I worked in a box factory. Mind you, my best was only 3:47. I suspect that a 3:43 might have gotten me that lauded supervisor's job.

Running even a 3:43 1500 is a rare as playing in Major League Baseball. A 3:43 1500 is probably equivalent in talent to batting .270 in the major leagues.

If running the 1500 were as prestigious as baseball in this country Jason Lunn would probably be a millionaire.

What is a more impressive athletic achievement; a major league hitter getting a million to bat .220 or Jason Lunn running a 3:36.38 1500. Obviously, the pay scale in American sports is based on what sports we consider "important". Distance running I guess is at the bottom of this scale.

If you want to get an idea on what a 3:40+ runner goes through I guess you can read miler Scott’s journal on this website.

(Conversation at a sports bar a month ago)

Friend: "Hey what happened to that guy who run 4:17 at the local high school". His brother said he ran 3:44 1500 in college."

Me: "He is now trying to open up a sneaker store with his wife. He never made it to the trials. Boy he really did kick our ass in high school."

His store is now open for business. I guess he can put his business degree to work. Running is now his hobby, but his records still stands at the local high school. At this medium sized high school in NJ he will always be the king.

He should have run at Rutgers. At least there he would have been a big frog in a little pond. I don't know anyone at Rutger who could run a 3:44 1500. Now he is just another forgotton 3:40+ runner that the NCAA produces like mass-produced cars.

ask christian hesch

The money must be preserved for underwater treadmilles for more 2:19 marathoners.

Running a 3:43 may be rare, but it isn't a team sport. Therefore, a 3:43 runner can't have a significant impact on an event. Plus a 50k people don't come out to watch said runner 162 times a year.

They move up to the 5000m, and give up thinking they're a miler.

They Run road races in the off season and try to pocket about 10,000 - 12,000. There are tons of races that you can earn money in. Go to florida in the winter, serve at a resturnant, run the weekend warrier circuit. You can make it, you won't be rich, but you wouldn't expect to be a rich runner do you? or you can buy a powerball ticket, hope for the best, and "build a huge shoe store"

I think the comment about how running not being a team sport has huge implications on the viablility as a career. Also the lack of public attention, while a little more obvious clearly has a huge effect. For runners like myself who know they will never see a sub 4 we definitely can gasp at the shame.

para

Post College was a fast food job (to eat as well as pay rent) and construction (which after an 8-10 day of drywall, roofing, demolition, made doing actual workouts very fatiguing). 3:42-3:43 is definitely a "tweener time" when it comes to progressing to the next level.

I would advise a deskjob to continue your athletic goals! Banker position has allowed me to progress back toward a competitive state later in life.

Keep working toward your goal. You have your whole life to work! two pennies.

ynot

meters wrote:

A 3:43 1500 is probably equivalent in talent to batting .270 in the major leagues.

actually, the double A comparison is much more accurate... you need to take into account how many more people are trying to make in baseball: in that perspective, being one of top ten milers in the world (3:31-2) is probably equivalent to being one of the top 200-300 baseball players in the world (.270 hitter)...

xxx wrote:

actually, the double A comparison is much more accurate... you need to take into account how many more people are trying to make in baseball: in that perspective, being one of top ten milers in the world (3:31-2) is probably equivalent to being one of the top 200-300 baseball players in the world (.270 hitter)...

Are you serious? Very few countries play Baseball, while Athletics is one of the few truly international sports. There are 100’s if not 1000’s of times more runners in this world than people who play baseball. Plus, it’s more obvious if somebody is good at running from an early age, whereas the best baseball players (in terms of genetic potential) may not have even picked up a bat. I wouldn’t imagine there are many people out there that could potentially run 3:43, but don’t run. Running is like a pyramid, with the elites at the top, and the average person at the bottom. So if you take a 3:43 runner (i.e near the top), and put him in a random sample of people (e.g. a high school) he’d be so much better than everybody else it would be obvious. It would be very unlikely that his talent wouldn’t be identified and exploited. But the person who is potentially the worlds best baseball player might play football or some other sport instead. So to say that the worlds top 10 runners are only as good as the top 200-300 baseball players is ridiculous – especially using the argument that this is because more people play baseball.

Runners make a longer living. How do they do that? Well, by being fit and healthy. Living is not all about money.

Get a job at a running store. Not only can you make some money to live off of, but you should get all your running gear at cost. If the store has a racing team too you might be able to enter into races for free and work your way up from there. At the store I work at there are three of us that are trying to become better runners (Olympic Trial qualifiers) and trying to make some money as well.